Today, Bucci says he looks back with regret on many of the arrests he made for marijuana possession, telling a state Senate committee Monday: ” I can’t help thinking I let people down.”

“I’ve spent most of my career fighting the failed war on drugs, and I have seen the message that enforcement of our harsh marijuana law sends: if we catch you experimenting, we will do everything we can to ruin your future,” said Bucci, a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, or LEAP.

The state’s first public hearing on legalizing marijuana offered a strongly supportive view from invited guests representing law enforcement, civil rights, religious and the medical field. They each urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to legalize marijuana because the consequences of getting arrested for possession are too severe and lasting.

“I am going to start positive, then open up the floor to the people are against it,” said Scutari (D-Union). Opponents will get their turn at a future hearing, he said.

As both a governor and a candidate for president, Chris Christie has called marijuana a “gateway” drug that is harmful to children. He has said that if elected president,he would challenge the states that legalized its recreational use.

A long line formed Friday when its first dispensary, First State Compassion Center, opened in a former tile market in a bustling Wilmington industrial park. CannaCare Docs, a company that employs physicians to certify eligible patients, fielded questions from curious passers-by a few doors away.

New Jersey led the way in the area when it legalized medical marijuana in 2010. Delaware followed in 2011. Pennsylvania fell behind while nearly half the states nationwide adopted marijuana programs. Some Pennsylvania senators have said they plan soon to push a stalled bill with bipartisan support onto the floor for debate.

(Hefler goes into the stark differences between the New Jersey and Delaware marijuana programs. Read more here.)

A man wears a hat with a marijuana depiction as a large group gathered near the New Jersey Statehouse to show their support for legalizing marijuana Saturday, March 21, 2015, in Trenton, N.J. The event was led by Ed Forchion, a pro-marijuana activist known as NJ Weedman. He renewed his calls for lawmakers to legalize the drug, saying it should be treated like alcohol. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

TRENTON. N.J. — A fresh New Jersey state government report finds that only a few thousand people received legal medical marijuana in the state during the program’s first two years.

Roughly 4,000 patients got their plant-based medicine at just three clinics which have thus far been empowered to sell it.

As New Jersey’s medical marijuana program moves into its third year, state health officials said they will consider expanding it beyond the 10 conditions it currently covers. A panel of doctors and other medical experts will meet in the next few months to discuss adding post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other conditions to the list.

The vote comes a day after Christie criticized the notion of legalizing marijuana in order to gain a tax windfall, calling it “blood money.”

Here’s a closer look at New Jersey’s medical marijuana program and the measure lawmakers approved:

HOW DOES THE RESOLUTION WORK?

The measure says that 10 regulations enacted by the state Department of Health are contrary to the Legislature’s intent when it passed the Compassionate Use of Medical Marijuana Act of 2009, shortly before Christie took office. Those regulations include the requirement that doctors who prescribe medical marijuana enroll in a public database, which lawmakers say discourages physicians. They also include the prohibition of edible marijuana as well as the delivery of the drug to homes.

WOULDN’T CHRISTIE LIKELY VETO THIS?

He won’t get the chance. That’s because this is a concurrent resolution, which means the measure isn’t a regular bill. If both the Assembly and Senate pass the measure, the Health Department has 30 days to align its regulations with the resolution. If the department does not, the Legislature could pass the resolution a second time, which would then force the change of the regulations.

HOW DOES THE MEDICAL MARIJUANA PROGRAM IN NEW JERSEY WORK?

Patients and doctors must register with the state and pay a $200 fee apiece. Only patients suffering from one of six conditions, including terminal cancer, multiple sclerosis and muscular dystrophy, may apply. Currently, there are only three dispensaries open in the state, in Woodbridge, Egg Harbor Township and Montclair. There are about 2,000 registered patients, but Democratic Assemblyman Tim Eustace, who sponsored the resolution, estimates between 500 and 1,000 people are using the program.

ARE THERE ANY OTHER PROPOSALS TO CHANGE THE PROGRAM?

Yes. Democrats who control the Assembly also approved two additional marijuana bills. One adds post-traumatic stress disorder to the list of authorized medical conditions for the drug. The other authorizes treatment facilities to transfer medical marijuana in order to meet demand. Eustace said the second bill was needed because the state’s three facilities exhaust their marijuana supply and cannot acquire more from one of the other centers. The bill is aimed at easing that problem.

People hold flags and signs with marijuana depictions as a large group gathered near the New Jersey Statehouse to show their support for legalizing marijuana Saturday, March 21, 2015, in Trenton, N.J.The event drew a diverse crowd of roughly 200 people. Many said they wanted to show their support for legalizing or decriminalizing pot, while others said it should only be given to people with medical conditions that could be eased by the drug. Several people were openly smoking the drug during Saturday’s rally, but apparently none were arrested. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

TRENTON — Dozens of people gathered Saturday near the New Jersey Statehouse to show their support for legalizing marijuana.

Several people were openly smoking the drug during the rally, but apparently none were arrested.

The event drew a diverse crowd of roughly 200 people. Many said they wanted to show their support for legalizing or decriminalizing pot, while others said it should only be given to people with medical conditions that could be eased by the drug.

The event was led by Ed Forchion (FOR’-chun), a pro-marijuana activist known as NJ Weedman. He renewed his calls for lawmakers to legalize the drug, saying it should be treated like alcohol.

New Jersey issued its first standards for edible forms of medical marijuana last week. That could clear the way for the state’s three dispensaries to start making and selling the products.